In other games like GTA you get crimestats for doing wrong, then police tries to kill you. You got two options, you escape ore you die. End of punishement.
Luke Pressly said in the latest "Inside Star Citizen" that Star Citizen has the longest list of crimes in a game he ever saw. I think this list is not complete yet.
It would be lazy and not appropriate if every crime on the list resulted in you getting guned down and then you simply respawn.
And they need a system that prevents people loosing fun in Star Citizen because some idiots like to bully a lot.
This is the first game I know that has such a complex law enforcement system and a prison.
I think this is great and it should take you some determination to get trown into prison.
It's so complex, not every law is applied everywhere, different jurastriction zones have different values on different crimes, so only because you are a wanted criminal on Hurston doesn't mean that you are a criminal on Arccorp. I can imagine they get rid of the global crimestat at some point, because it doesn't apply everywhere.
I mean you can have different crimestats for every location.
Then they want to get rid of the zones where you can't use your gun and replace it with a crime for when you draw your gun.
I think the system we get now is great: You can pay fines at machines, if you ignore them they go up in price and if you ignore them to long or do something really bad you get a crimestat.
Crimestat 1 isn't a bounty yet so I think police doesn't look for you either, you are just not welcome everywhere anymore, you can still pay your fines or hack them and you'll be ok.
If you still ignore it and keep doing illegal stuff you get more fines and more crimestats it get's you a bounty and police search eventually, you can still pay at the machine but if they catch or kill you then, and only then you get to prison. i think it will depend on your fine count how much merrits you have to serve so it's not the same time to spend for everyone.
The moment they catch you, you respawn in prison. This is great because if they would have to take you there you couldn't do anything for like half an hour or longer. On the other hand it would be a fun opportunity to break soemone out of prison transport.
So I think this is a great gameloop and I'm glad that we get it now. People have to behave appropiatly to where they are. You can have a fist fight at Grim Hex, but in Area 18 nobody wants to see that.
If you want to have some fun with your friends, maybe don't upset the authorities by going on a killing spree in New Babagge half an hour before you meet them there.